Grand Master's Palace, Valletta

Built in the 16th century as the seat of the Grand Masters of the Order of St John, this palace later served British colonial governors and today houses the Office of the President of Malta and the country's parliament chamber for part of its history. Visitors pass through two arcaded courtyards into the State Rooms, hung with Gobelin tapestries and frieze paintings of the Great Siege of 1565. The adjoining Palace Armoury displays one of Europe's largest surviving collections of arms and armour once belonging to the knights.